Which car to buy?

[Roshun]

One of the most common queries we get is from folks trying to figure out which car to buy. There are many questions one has in one's mind before picking a car. What are your needs? Should it be petrol or diesel? Should it be a hatchback, sedan or SUV? For all those queries, please post in this thread, and we'll get peers and experts to answer your queries.

[Vermavarun1122]

Lots of people get confused when it comes to buying a car. Just analyse your budget and your need - whether it should be an SUV, sedan etc, and go for the best deals and discounts. There are many portals which are providing great discounts on top selling cars.

[I Live For Speed]

Hi, I just sold my car and I am in the market for a new one, possibly a sedan or even a hatchback in ~10L bracket.

A little something about my requirements: I am a sucker for fast cars ( fuel economy is not an important ) AND it should handle well. I think Fiesta 1.6 S was brilliant in that sense but can't think of any new cars that come close to it in terms of the feel ( including the Abarth Punto).

My drives are at max 20 Km daily and I would prefer a petrol car to a diesel car but I'm open to the idea of a diesel car if it's a good car.

[Roshun]

I'll give you two cars to consider:

1. The Volkswagen Polo GT TSI. It's a seven-speed automatic, has a brilliant turbocharged engine putting out a decent 175 nm of torque and 105 bhp of power. It handles nicely and would be the closest in terms of handling to what you felt in the Fiesta 1.6S (Why, why, why are you letting it go?)
2. Save a bit of cash on this one. The Ford Figo Titanium diesel. Diesel engine with 100PS of power / 215 Nm of torque. The handling is pretty sorted, but you may feel the interiors are slightly low rent. If you are OK with that, it is probably one of the best little hatches you can get. But just 20 km a day - go for a petrol.

If neither really interests you and you want to be a little different, look for a used Fiat Linea T-Jet. Prices aren't great in the used car market for Lineas, so the T-Jet should come for a song. It's a lovely car to drive, although you may find it a bit long. Very nice handling, great build quality, not as much of a hooligan as the Abarth though. Only the gear shift may be a bit of a pain point.

[CorsaVeloce]

I'll give you two cars to consider:
1. The Volkswagen Polo GT TSI. It's a seven-speed automatic, has a brilliant turbocharged engine putting out a decent 175 nm of torque and 105 bhp of power. It handles nicely and would be the closest in terms of handling to what you felt in the Fiesta 1.6S (Why, why, why are you letting it go?)
2. Save a bit of cash on this one. The Ford Figo Titanium diesel. Diesel engine with 100PS of power / 215 Nm of torque. The handling is pretty sorted, but you may feel the interiors are slightly low rent. If you are OK with that, it is probably one of the best little hatches you can get. But just 20 km a day - go for a petrol.

If neither really interests you and you want to be a little different, look for a used Fiat Linea T-Jet. Prices aren't great in the used car market for Lineas, so the T-Jet should come for a song. It's a lovely car to drive, although you may find it a bit long. Very nice handling, great build quality, not as much of a hooligan as the Abarth though. Only the gear shift may be a bit of a pain point.

Roshun, I'd suggest strongly against the Linea T-Jet, as its not a easy car to live with. Issues starting from bumpy ride to interior rattle are very common in that model.
Having said that, the new Figo with the 1.5 VCT is a great deal. For less than 20km of driving, it fits the bill perfectly. Its got 112 ps of power, with a brilliant dual-clutch transmission which made its debut with the EcoSport.
And given the love I Live For Speed gives his car, the Ford will make for a trusty companion.

[Roshun]

^^ The dual clutch "power shift" 6 speed automatic actually was first offered with the "new" Fiesta in 2012, but found hardly any takers, mostly because of its pricing and oddball looks.

[I Live For Speed]

I'm back to where I started; I had driven the GT TSI when I was looking for a new hatchback and discounted it since I had the Fiesta which was as fast , sounded WAY better and felt sportier handling wise.

Karma has a way of coming back at you.

( As Stig-Wannabe suggested , I ended up buying the 'more rounded' up package - Elite i20 , great bang for buck!)

[kumar chandan]

One of the most common queries we get is from folks trying to figure out which car to buy. There are many questions one has in one's mind before picking a car. What are your needs? Should it be petrol or diesel? Should it be a hatchback, sedan or SUV? For all those queries, please post in this thread, and we'll get peers and experts to answer your queries.

I need guidance as to which are the ideal diesel hatchbacks to choose from to be used in the taxi segment . The usage would be abt 4 lac km in 5 years. About 70% usage would be for city driving.

[JOY_MRC]

I need guidance as to which are the ideal diesel hatchbacks to choose from to be used in the taxi segment . The usage would be abt 4 lac km in 5 years. About 70% usage would be for city driving.

The most favourite choice of the segment is the Indica siblings eV2/Bolt.The advantages are these can sit 5 in comfort,does have good boot and can take up abuse quite well.The Indigo eCS also gives the convenience of the boot which is needed in a taxi yet is compact enough to fit in tight spaces.This is the ideal car to be used in the city as a taxi right now.gives good mileage,priced well,can be fixed cheaply and can take rough use without complaints.passenger comfort on bad roads is also quite good.so,it is the practical tried and tested choice.

If you want to try out a bit more the 1.5dCi engine in the Verito(Logan) is another taxi favourite.it is found in hatchbacks such as the Pulse,Micra,Verito Vibe etc but all these would cost more to maintain in the long run than TATA as the spare and service costs are higher.

[Roshun]

kumar chandan In addition to what Joy has said, I think one more choice you should consider for the taxi segment is the Toyota Etio Liva. This car is also low on maintenance, it is spacious enough for five with luggage and gives pretty good mileage. It may not have the robust body you would expect from a Toyota, but I have seen Liva's with over a lakh km running without any fuss. The car is well built mechanically, and all it needs are regular services. Parts are not that expensive either. Besides the Verito Vibe / Indica Vista / Bolt mentioned above, you could also think of a Ford Figo (new model) if you want to have a different sort of fleet, although there are not too many Figos in the taxi segment.

[Mr. Fox]

If you want to try out a bit more the 1.5dCi engine in the Verito(Logan) is another taxi favourite.it is found in hatchbacks such as the Pulse,Micra,Verito Vibe etc but all these would cost more to maintain in the long run than TATA as the spare and service costs are higher.

Instead of the Verito, you should look at the Verito Vibe. It is fairly cheap to buy, has plenty of interior space (same as the regular Verito/Logan) and comes with that brilliant 1.5 litre diesel engine that is a work horse. After the 1.3 litre multijet that has been called the "national engine" by some enthusiasts, the 1.5 litre Dci found in all the Renault and Nissan vehicles is one hardy engine - Micra, Pulse, Scala, Sunny, Duster, Terrano, Fluence, Verito and Verito Vibe, all use the same engine in different states of tune from 64 bhp up to 110 bhp. Mahindra service is fairly decent. Look at EasyCabs and Meru in Bangalore - most of the cars are either Verito or Etios.

[Jijo_Malayil]

Soon to be launched(20th January) Tata Zica can also be considered, frugal motor(1.05 Liter / 70PS), generous space, compact dimensions & loads of features! Expected to be priced around 5 lakhs for the base diesel model. Try it out!

[kaiserketkar]

As with any all-new Tata or Mahindra, I would hesitate to go for the initial batches of the car, wait for a few months to let the issues be solved and then buy a sorted car afterward.

My pick would be the Bolt, the slightly pricier Verito Vibe or the Etios- in that order.

[kumar chandan]

Thank you Joy MRC ji and Roshun ji for the valuable inputs.
Thanking Mr Fox ji, JijoMalayil ji and Kaiserketkar ji for the valuable inputs ......... regards

[Pbspring]

Is it safe to buy Maruti Wagon-R Stingray or go for regular Wagon-R?

First time member and trying to get some help in order to decide first car for my father. Shortlisted AMT version of Wagon R vxi optional, Stingray VXI optional and Celerio ZXI optional.
Finalizing stingray due to slightly distinct front and all black interiors at almost same price of regular Wagon R (avoiding Celerio due to inferior interiors, seat quality and no adjustable headrest and lack of so many features in amt zxi optional version compared to MT like no alloys and no seat height adjust).
Since its very rare to find Stingray on road and may be discontinued in near future (probably not in 1-2 years as amt is just launched), is it safe to go for Stingray over regular Wagon r?